Who's The Father
by trycee
Summary: Scully recieves a letter that sends her and Mulder on a quest to find the father of Emily.
1. Chapter 1

**Who's The Father?**

**By Trycee**

**Time-Line: Season 7**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Files, this is written for fun not profit.**

Mulder was sitting at his desk watching the clock, Scully was a few minutes late and it typically made him nervous. She strode in her briefcase in one hand and a stack of mail in the other. She didn't speak but walked straight over to her desk. Mulder watched her slim profile, she was wearing a tight fitting black skirt and black jacket was opened, giving him a glimpse at her cleavage, which made him perk up. He could tell that she was distracted and so his usual, "Hi Scully," was ignored as she sifted through the mail. He waited, watching her closely as he always did, until she stopped and stared at an envelope before her.

"What is it?", he said, standing up and coming over to stand inches from her, so close he could feel her body heat radiating.

"It's addressed to me but with no return address," she said, staring at the brown envelope in her hand.

Mulder handed her a pair of gloves. She snapped them on and Mulder smiled to himself. He snapped on his own gloves as Scully carefully opened the envelope. He could hear her gasp and he looked at her hand holding a photograph. It was a picture of Emily one he had never seen before. Underneath the Polaroid was handwritten in a scribbled script, "Who's the Father?"

Mulder watched as Scully's entire body began to shake as she stared at the photo. He grabbed two evidence bags and placed the envelope in one, maneuvering her hand to drop the envelope into the bag and then doing the same with the photo though her fingers barely released it. She watched as the photo slide down into the plastic bag before Mulder sealed it. He took off his gloves and she did as well, all without saying a word. Mulder turned the envelope over in his hand and noticed some stamped lettering, ' HOME OF THE CAVERS'.

Mulder turned to Scully who was still staring at the photo of her daughter in the evidence bag. "Does, Home of the Cavers, mean anything to you?"

"Yeah," she said, quietly, the first words he'd heard spoken from her since she'd opened the envelope. "It's from my high school, San Diego High School...", she said in disbelief. "Mulder?", she said, her question unspoken.

Mulder reached out and touched her back, his hand resting high up on her ribcage. He looked her in the eyes, he could see tears unshed, fear and shock from wounds that had never healed that were being opened right in front of him and so he pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her. "Scully, I'm going to find out but I need you to promise me something?"

Her head rested against his chest. "What?", she said, surprised.

"Promise me that you won't shut me out. You won't try to pretend that you're fine. If you need support, you'll come to me. Promise me that you'll let me in," he said.

Scully pulled back to look him in the eye. "I promise."

Mulder stared in the deep blue pools of her eyes for a long moment. "Okay, well, let's go talk to Skinner, we'll need to book the next flight to San Diego. That's if you want to pursue this through the FBI?"

He was still holding her around her ribcage and she stared up into his deep hazel eyes. "Yes, we'll need all the resources we can get."

"Are you up to this? Do you want me to investigate on my own?"

"No, Mulder, I need to know…I've always wondered since it was confirmed that Emily was mine," she said, quietly. "I need to know."

He let his finger skim her cheek. "Okay, but Scully, you're not alone. I'm here too. We'll investigate this together, okay?"

"Okay," she said, pulling away.

Mulder's arms felt empty as he watched her gather her things. He finally turned and walked over to the door. He stood there and waited until she had walked past him, there eyes locking onto each other. He locked the door behind him and followed her into the elevator. He wanted to hold her but he knew that he couldn't, they were closer than ever but hadn't crossed the line yet to move into a physical relationship yet. They were growing comfortable with holding hands, even a peck or two but hadn't made it fully to a sexual relationship and so he had to tread cautiously with her, to only do what she would allow and so he stood next to her, watching as she changed into the stoic Agent Scully.

They waited in the waiting room of Skinner's office until his secretary let them in. They entered, the evidence bags in Mulder's hands as they sat down at Skinner's desk.

"Whats so urgent, agents?", Skinner asked.

"Sir, this was sent to me in the mail this morning," Scully answered, her best FBI tone in place.

"What is it?", Skinner said, giving it a side-ways glance.

"It's a picture of my daughter, Emily," she said, her voice cracking slightly.

Skinner stopped pacing the room to look at Scully and then Mulder. "Who sent this?"

"There's no returned address, " Mulder added. "We have a clue, it's from Scully's high school written on the back," he said, turning the envelope over. "Someone wants us to start there, sir."

Skinner looked at Scully, trying to gauge her. "And I'm assuming you want to persue this through the X-Files, Agent Scully?"

"Yes sir."

"Did you run labs on the envelope and photo?"

"Not…not yet," she stuttered.

"We came right here," Mulder added. "We'll send it to the labs and have a copy mailed out to us at the San Diego office. We need flights out ASAP."

"Keep me informed," he nodded.

"Yes sir, "Mulder answered.

"And Agents," Skinner said as they walked towards the door. "Good luck…"

They both nodded and then walked out, headed to pack for the trip and get on the first flight to San Diego.

**SAN DIEGO HIGH SCHOOl, CA**

As they walked up the steps of the high school, Scully stopped and looked around. "Its really changed since I was here."

"Good or bad?", Mulder asked.

"No, just different," she said, walking up the steps.

It was the summer and so there were no students or distractions in the hallway as they made their way to the office. There was only an occasional student leftover from summer school wandering the hall. They came to the office and Scully immediately stopped in her tracks. Behind the desk was a man, much shorter than Mulder, who was missing some of his hair. His glances made him look like the typical nerdy science teacher Mulder would make fun of in high school. But mainly, Mulder's attention was on Scully and her reaction to the man.

"Can I help you?", the man asked.

Scully pulled out her I.D., "Federal Agents, we're here because an envelope was mailed to us,"she said, showing a photo of the envelope to the man.

"You look familiar?", he said, staring at Scully. "Are you Dana? Dana Scully?"

"Yes," she said, glancing at Mulder, wordlessly explaining that she couldn't place his face or name.

Mulder smiled and looked away.

"Do you remember me?", the man asked.

"I'm sorry," Scully said, shaking her head.

"Its me…John Hastings."

"John Hastings?", she said, trying to remember and then it hit her. "Johnny?"

"Yes," he said, walking over to give her a big hug. He squeezed her tightly much to Mulders chagrine.

John released her and then glanced at Mulder. "Sorry, I was her boyfriend in high school. I didn't mean to…"

Scully looked shyly at Mulder and could see the tension in his face and eyes. She reached out and touched his hand and Mulder gripped her's for just a moment. "Ah, John, we're here to investigate an envelope that was mailed to me at the FBI."

"You know what," John said, not hearing a word Scully was saying. "There was a letter mailed here for you. I thought it was a mistake but I held on to it for a few weeks. I don't know why," he said, reaching into the mail cubby and pulling out an envelope addressed to _Dana Scully, San Diego High School_.

Scully looked at Mulder and he reached into his pocket and pulled out more gloves. They carefully opened the envelope as John Hastings watched them. "It's a list," Scully said, surprised. "A list of names."

"There's no addresses," Mulder stated. "Just names…of men."

Scully closed the envelope and placed it in the open evidence bag Mulder held out for her.

"Am I on that list?", John Hastings asked. "Is that a list of the hearts you've broken," he joked.

Scully smiled and then turned towards Mulder. Mulder said a quick, "Thanks for your help, we'll be in touch," and placed his hand around her waist, ushering her out of the office.

They waited until they were safely in the car before they reopened the envelope. "Mulder, who are these men? And who would create a child with my eggs with the sperm of a man I don't even know."

"I don't know, Scully," he said, touching her hand.

She gripped his hand and held it. "We need resources to find these names."

"How do you feel about all this Scully?"

She looked at him and sighed. "I could pretend that Emily was all me until this point," she said, as a tear rolled down her cheek. "Now with all this, it means that there out there somewhere is a man that is her father. And it hurts…"

Mulder pulled her shoulders close to him so that she would lay her head on this shoulder. "Scully, tell me…"

"We need to find him, find out what he knows. What if any connection he has to me and the experiments," she said, as tears streamed down. "Mulder, I feel helpless…"

Mulder glanced down at Scully. "Why?"

"Most women choose who the father of their child is," she said, looking away. "I didn't choose anything. She was just there and then she was gone forever and all the questions about her life until that point have haunted me all these years. I need to know but I'm scared too."

Mulder placed a soft kiss against her forehead. She glanced up to him and he kissed her lips lightly. "Come on, lets head over to the San Diego office and look these names up…"

"Okay," she said, sitting up and looking back to her high school.

It had been years since she was a young girl traveling up and down the steps. This wasn't the way she expected to return.

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	2. Chapter 2

"**Who's The Father?**

**Part 2**

**By Trycee**

**Time-line: Season 7**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the X-files, this is written for fun not profit.**

Mulder drove off heading for the San Diego Field Office. Scully, he noticed, had not glanced back at the list again. She instead stared at the photo of Emily. Emily was smiling in a living room that was not the one her adoptive parents had. A Christmas tree was in the background. Scully stared at her smiling daughter. She had only seen her Emily smile once and Mulder had been the one to make her smile. She had only known Emily so briefly, but each moment was etched in her heart. She touched the photo as if she were touching her daughter again. Mulder's heart broke as he watched her out of the corner of his eye.

She placed the photo on her lap and then stared out the window until they reached the San Diego field office. When the car stopped, she turned to look at him and their eyes locked.

"Talk to me, Scully."

She smiled nervously. She wasn't used to sharing her feelings but she had promised him. She knew that in order for them to eventually move on to a solid relationship, she would have to start being more open with him. "I was thinking, it's nice to have a photo of her smile. I was starting to forget her smile," she said, which dug into Mulder's heart.

She was so calm, her emotions kept in line. "I was wondering where this photo was taken and why all of a sudden this came in the mail. Do you think the Cancerman is involved?"

"I think he has a hand in a lot of stuff, more than we know," he sighed.

She grabbed the evidence bag with the list of possible fathers and opened her car door. "Let's get this started, Mulder."

They poured over the computers, searching every database for the first name, "David Michaels of San Diego."

"Why aren't we doing a nationwide search, Scully?"

Scully glanced up to Mulder. "Emily was born here. Her treatments were here…the clues lead us back here…"

"But you weren't living here at the time," he said, standing over her shoulder.

"No, but I did live here in my teen years until I moved with my parents back to Annapolis to start college. Bill still lives here," she said, as her eyes grew wide for a second.

Mulder didn't react but the thought of Bill was always an unpleasant one for him. 'Okay, so did you find any David Michaels here?"

"Surprisingly, just one," she sighed heavily. "Mulder, this list has 6 names on it. With each person's name having possibly hundreds of choices, we could be here until we're old going through this."

"What other choice do we have, Scully?"

She was quite a moment and then typed into the California DMV. She typed in each name and printed out the address for David Michaels. Mulder snatched up the photo of each man and searched them as she worked, moving on to the next name on the list.

"I don't see anything these people have in common based on their I.D's or addresses, " he said.

Scully shuffled through each photo trying to figure out if she knew any of the men but she didn't. It was early morning and they had worked through the night. Several coffee cups were stacked on the table next to her. She shook her head. "I don't know Mulder…"

"What did you think when you looked at the photos?", he said, now exhausted.

"What do you mean?", she said, cocking her head to the side.

"Do any of these men look as if they shared any of Emily's traits?"

Scully stared at the folder that held Emily's DNA analysis, her blood type and genetic makeup linking them to match her own perfectly. She sifted through the paperwork and found the copy of the original photo she had of Emily. "How many people resemble their DMV photos, Mulder? Hair color changes, people age but their DMV photos do not. ," she said.

"What does yours look like?," he said with great interest. "How sexy is it? Are you naked?"

"Mulder," she said, shaking her head. "You'd like to know, wouldn't you!"

"Yes I would," he grinned.

She giggled and then pulled out her driver's license and Mulder smiled. "Sexy, yes. Naked no…", he said, saddened.," he said.

"Oh, Mulder," she sighed. "You and your fantasies…"

"I've got thousands of fantasies of you, Scully. What do you think I've been doing all these years?"

"Hmm," she said, with a glint in her eye. "You'll have to tell me about it one of these days…"

"With pleasure," he smiled.

They stared at each other as the room seemed to heat up but then Mulder broke his gaze. Other Agents were ducking into their cubbies, coffees in hand, fresh and ready for a new day. "So, you ready to make an early morning visit?"

"We need some coffee but yes," she said, rising up though her legs were stiff.

Mulder grabbed her arm and helped her up. "Thanks," she smiled, weakly.

Mulder placed his hand on her back and they walked out into the bright early morning. After driving around through San Diego, they located the address of David Michaels. Mulder knocked on the door and was surprised that a second later, the door flung open. A woman answered the door. "May I help you?", she said, as two children seemed to attach themselves to her apron.

Mulder pulled out his badge. "Agents Mulder and Scully of the FBI. Is this the David Michaels residence?"

"Yes," she said, surprised. "David?", she said, turning to someone behind her.

A man stepped up to the door. "May I help you?"

After being seated on the couch, Mulder and Scully sat side by side, their legs touching. The two small children stared at them. Scully looked at their features, her mind trying to distinguish if they had any resemblance to her own child. She saw none. She could tell that Mulder too had concluded the same as he then focused on the man in front of them. "What reason did you come here?"

"Sir, your name was on a list, as one of six men that could possibly be the biological father of a now deceased child."

Mrs. Michaels nearly dropped the coffee in the trays that she was bringing into the living room. "What did you say?", she asked.

"That's not possible," David said as his face reddened. "I'm sorry but I don't know what you're talking about?"

Scully laid out the list and the photo. "This is a child named Emily Sims. Now, we're not suggesting that you in any way cheated on your wife or had a child separate from your own in the normal sense…"

"Kids, go to your rooms," his wife said, her eyes blazing. The kids quickly exited.

"Did you ever donate your sperm to a sperm bank?", Mulder asked.

"NO!", David said, growing angry. "What in the hell? This kid isn't mine."

"We're going about this all wrong," Scully said, looking at Mulder.

"Sir, were you ever missing at any time?", Mulder said, continuing.

"What do you mean?", he said, looking at his wife who was refusing to look at him.

"Did something happen to you in 1994? Were you missing at any time during 1994?"

"No, I was in the Army at that time," he said, shaking his head. "Look, you've upset me and my wife. What does this girl have to do with me? I did not give sperm to a sperm bank, I was not missing, and I don't have any children outside of the two in their rooms."

"Would you be willing to give a DNA sample?", Mulder asked.

"What to prove I'm NOT the father, sure…", he said, looking back to his wife who was finally looking at him. Her face had softened and Scully could tell that his wife believed him.

Scully took out her DNA kit, she snapped on gloves and swabbed the inside of his mouth and then dropped it into a bag. She labeled it and then left her card. "This is my number if you have any questions."

"I have plenty of questions," he said, tossing the card on the coffee table. "What the hell is this?"

"We're just trying to determine the father of this deceased child," Scully added, looking him directly in the eye. "There are five other men on a list. It doesn't mean that you are the father."

"Who's the mother?", he questioned. "Look, I didn't sleep with some tramp who now thinks I'm the baby's daddy! I am a Christian man, I do not step out on my family!"

Scully turned to Mulder. She was trying to erase the 'tramp' label from her mind. Mulder stood up and handed his own card to David Michaels. "The mother was a victim, sir. She like the father, were used to create this child without their knowledge."

"What are you saying?", his wife asked.

"This child was created as an experiment using the mother's eggs and the father's sperm. We're trying to determine, how, why and most importantly, who the father is. We are only going by the list we were given. We don't know why your name was placed on the list. "

"We're sorry if we disturbed you. It wasn't our intention," Scully said, swallowing hard. "We're just doing our job."

"How did she die?", his wife, asked. "How did the little girl die?"

Mulder turned to Scully and she looked Mrs. Michaels in the eye. "She died of an incurable disease that spread all over her body. She was three years old. She died in 1997.", she said, trying to control herself in front of them.

"I'm sorry," Mrs. Michaels spoke. "I don't quite understand all this but I am sorry for that little girl and if the mother was experimented on by someone, I'm sorry for her too."

"Thank You," Scully said, turning quickly.

David looked at Scully as she walked on. His finger raised, he looked at his wife, "Is she the…"

"We'll be in touch," Mulder said, heading out the door to follow Scully.

She stood at the car waiting, her back toward Mulder. When he walked up to her, she turned and buried her head into his chest and cried openly. He held her tightly, his hand rubbing against her back, trying to soothe her. "It's okay, Scully, it's okay."

David and his wife watched the two agents from their front window as they hugged. They looked at each other, confused. "What the hell was that all about?", David questioned.

"She's the mother," his wife answered. "She's trying to find the father of her child that died."

"Oh," David said, staring until the government issued car drove away.

**PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK: THANKS!**


	3. Chapter 3

"**Who's The Father?**

**Part 3**

**By Trycee**

**Time-line: Season 7**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the X-files, this is written for fun not profit.**

Scully was irate as they drove off from the Michaels home. "What the hell were you doing?", she said, turning towards Mulder.

He was surprised by the shift in her mood. "What do you mean?"

"Mulder, you could've damaged their marriage the way you kept probing!"

"Look, this isn't easy for me either," he said, looking off.

"What? Pull over!", she demanded. "What are you saying?"

Mulder pulled over to the side of the residential street.

Scully knew a fight was coming and she was prepared. "What do you mean, Mulder? How is this hard on you?"

Mulder slammed his palms against the steering wheel which made her jump. "Damn it Scully, we are looking for a man who is the father of your child!", he screamed. "Something I couldn't do for you. And I always wanted too," he said, his face taut.

"Mulder," she said, reaching out to him but he pushed her hand away.

"The chance for me to have a child is gone too because our only attempt failed. That's it for the both of us!"

Scully was startled. "You could always…"

"STOP IT!", he said. "If it's not with you then it will never be, Scully. And out here somewhere is a man who is the father of the ONE child that came from you and it's NOT MINE! How do you expect me to feel?", he said, as tears streamed down Scully's cheeks.

"I'm sorry Mulder," she said, looking at his tortured face. "I didn't realize."

She watched as Mulder's shoulders slumped.

"You have no idea how much I wanted her to be yours. But I had no choice in the matter," she said, quietly. "To have had created a child with you…I can't tell you how much it hurts to know that will never happen."

Mulder sighed and then shifted his body so he could rest his forehead against hers. "We're both mourning that loss and this has brought all that back up for us. But we have each other Scully. We love each other and when we do make love for the first time, it'll be purely as a demonstration of that love. Whether we ever create a life or we don't, it won't change or weaken the love between us."

Scully nodded. "I know."

There was a tap on their window shield. Mulder rolled down the window.

"Hey, is there a reason you're making out in front of my house where my kid waits for the school bus?", a dad with several kids standing near him asked.

"We apologized, " Scully answered as they pulled off.

The next one on the list was a man named, George T. Highland. They approached the lone single-wide trailer on a windy road. They could see a man dressed in a leather biker's jacket who was standing in front of his front door, a shot-gun in his hand.

"Whoa, there!", he screamed. "Are you lost?"

Mulder told Scully to stay in the car as he stepped out, his hands held up. "Are you George Highland?"

"Who wants to know?"

"Federal Agents Mulder and Scully."

George lowered his gun. "What did I do now? I've been off parole."

"Can we speak to you?"

George looked through the windshield at Scully and then at Mulder. "Come on," he said, said, entering his home.

Mulder motioned for Scully to follow him. He could tell that she was less than thrilled about it. The house was decorated with dusty beer bottles scattered over every surface. "Mr. Highland, were you ever in the armed forces?"

Scully raised her eyebrows but said nothing.

"Served 6 yrs in the Army, why?"

Scully perked up.

"Have you ever given a donation to a sperm bank?"

George Highland looked surprised. "What's this about?"

"We're trying to find the father of a 3 yr. old little girl."

George let out a loud laugh. "I probably have kids everywhere."

"Have you given donations?", Mulder continued.

"Hell no. I made my babies the ole fashioned way," he said, winking at Scully.

She ignored him, cringing internally.

"Would you be willing to take a DNA test?", Mulder asked.

"Wait, you talking child support if the kid is mine?"

Mulder looked at Scully. He could tell she was serious disturbed by George. "Ah, there's no need. The child is deceased for several years now," he said, watching Scully closely.

"Okay, then," he said, eagerly.

They quickly gathered his DNA sample and left as soon as they could.

"You want to continue?", Mulder asked an emotionally drained Scully.

"No, I think I'm done for today."

"You want to get a hotel?"

Scully looked at Mulder. "I was thinking we'd stop by Bill's. I could use some family around me right now."

Mulder looked at her but was silent.

"Is that okay, Mulder?", she said, looking for his approval.

"Of course, Scully," he said, noticing the relief in her shoulder's. "Whatever you want."

Mulder couldn't wipe the smile off Scully's face if he tried as she engaged her toddler nephew, Matthew. He would come close but would remain just out of reach of the two strangers who sat on his couch. One had a protective arm wrapped around the red head that smiled warmly and looked familiar though he couldn't place where he knew her. So he played with his toys, edging ever so closely to her until his father picked him up and placed him on her lap and said, "This is your Aunt Dana, give her a kiss."

Mulder could feel the icy cold glare of Bill's as he stared at his hand position and closeness to his sister.

"I knew it," Bill stated.

"You knew what?", Scully asked.

Bill pointed to them both. "Does mom know?"

"Know what?", Scully asked as baby Matthew tottered to the open arms of his mother, Tara.

"That you two are sleeping together!", he said, fuming. "I knew it years ago. That's why you were so blinded about him because you were in love with him."

"I was in love with him," she smiled at Mulder and he smiled back.

"And so was I," he added. "And we haven't slept together yet…"

"Mulder! It's none of his business," Scully said, shooting a look at her brother.

Bill was about to say something but one look from Tara stopped him.

Tara stepped up. "Let's eat!", she said, looking at Bill.

Bill sighed and then stepped away, heading towards the dining room.

Mulder stood up with Scully and she turned and looked him in the eye. "Sorry about that," she smiled shyly. "Big brothers…"

"I know," he nodded. "I was one once."

She looked up at him and then pressed her lips to his. "I do love you. I've loved you a long time."

"So have I," he smiled.

"Ah, love-birds!," Tara called out. "Dinner is in here!"

Scully laughed. "We're coming."

Mulder place his hand on his spot and they walked into the dining room, seating themselves. Mulder was aware of Bill's looks at him but he was quiet. They hadn't gone into details of the reason for their visit only that they were in San Diego on a case which made it easier for them in dealing with Bill. Scully and Bill laughed as they told childhood stories that fascinated Mulder. He could see how much the two siblings loved each other though he knew they did not get along for long. He was seeing a whole other side to Scully, one who laughed openly and told jokes and seemed to float with happiness. He was mesmerized much to Tara's delight as she watched their interaction. Half way through the dinner, the phone was handed to Scully and she talked to both her mom and her brother Charlie, who Mulder still had never seen. Soon though it was late in the evening and they prepared to leave.

"Where are you going?", Tara asked as they prepared to head out of the door. "We have room and I won't hear of you going to a hotel."

"I think Bill and Mulder would be more comfortable if we stayed in a hotel," Scully said.

"Nonsense," she said. "We have just the one room."

"I'll go to the hotel," Mulder said, looking at Scully.

"Okay," she smiled.

"No, no hotels," Tara insisted. "You can share the room with Dana, right?"

"Tara!", Scully said, surprised. "We haven't gotten that far yet." she said, shyly, glancing quickly at Mulder, her face reddening.

"We've slept in the same bed before, Scully. Plus, there is no way anything would happen in your brother's home," Mulder said, as his own face reddened.

"It's settled then," Tara said, walking up the steps. "See you in the morning."

Scully looked at Mulder and he looked at her. "Okay then, let's go to sleep," he said, his eyes darkened.

"Okay, we can do this," she sighed.

Mulder stared as she walked up the steps to the bedroom. She turned to look at him and then reached out her hand to him. "Come on, Mulder, let's go to bed."

**PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK: THANKS!**


	4. Chapter 4

"**Who's The Father?**

**Part 4**

**By Trycee**

**Time-line: Season 7**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the X-files, this is written for fun not profit.**

Scully had changed into her sleepwear while Mulder had changed out of his clothes only having his boxer shorts on. She noticed the smoothness of his golden skin as she stood there staring at him, her mouth gaped open. He too was starting at her, noticing the movement of her chest as she breathed deeply. "How are we gonna do this?", she asked.

Mulder grabbed all of the pillows and placed them between them to separate them. Scully slipped in on her side. Mulder watched her. She reached over, her hand grazing his stubbled face. "I love you," she said, before kissing him deeply.

Mulder returned the heated kiss but pulled away. "Scully, I love you so much but getting murdered by Bill isn't my idea of consummating our relationship."

Scully laughed, her head falling down, resting lightly against him. He lifted her chin and kissed his way up to her soft lips. "Goodnight," he said, with difficulty.

"Goodnight"," she said, moving back over to her own side.

Mulder tucked her in, pulling the blanket up over her shoulders and kissed her on the cheek He stared at her in the dark before slipping down into the bed and then switched off the lamp next to him. He had very little sleep the entire night.

Scully was the first one to go down to the kitchen, fully dressed and yawning. She found her sister-n-law already there making breakfast. "Hey," Tara exclaimed. "Sleep well?"

Scully shot her a look. "No," she said, grumping. "Barely slept a wink," she said, as Tara placed a hot steamy cup of coffee in front of her.

"You didn't sleep snug in his arms?", she smirked.

Scully shook her head. "We tried all night not to come in contact with each other."

"Well, Bill was up too, listening for sounds, ready to throw Mulder out on his bare ass," Tara whispered.

Scully looked up at from her now emptied cup of coffee. "Well, Bill doesn't have to worry. That's the last thing Mulder wants to do in earshot of Bill!"

Tara smiled and then placed a plate of eggs, bacon and toast in front of her sister-n-law. Scully thanked her and then began to eat her breakfast.

"What's this case about, you didn't mention it yesterday? What brought you out so suddenly to San Diego?"

Scully placed her fork down. "I guess Bill was too surprised to see me, but especially me with Mulder yesterday that we didn't say, did we?"

"No," Tara said, placing baby Matthew in his high chair.

Scully smiled at the little red headed boy. "He's so cute."

"So tell me or is it top secret?"

"What's top secret?", Bill asked as he walked into the small kitchen.

"Ah, the case we're here for. Mulder and I," she said, looking her eldest brother in the eye.

Bill just stared at her as Tara quickly handed him a cup of coffee. He sipped it and then sat down next to his sister. "Is it top secret?"

"No," Scully said, nervously. "Someone mailed a list to me at the Bureau. A list of men who could be the father of Emily."

Bill locked eyes with Tara and then turned back to look at his youngest sister. "I can't pretend that I still understand all of that, Dana."

"When I was taken. When I was abducted," Scully said, carefully choosing her words. "My eggs were extracted from me causing me to become barren. Someone extracted them, creating children like Emily. My children," she said, swallowing hard. "There may be more out there, we don't know but Emily found me and it's been very hard to move on knowing that I had a daughter that died."

Bill remained quiet as Scully continued. "I had moved on as hard as it was and when this list came, it came with a photo of Emily I had never seen with the words, "_Who's the Father?", _"written underneath. Mulder and I are trying to determine who Emily's father was and the reason it was mailed to me. We only know that Emily was created as an experiment, we don't know who created her."

Bill could see the pain in his sister's eyes and he reached out and touched her hand. "If you need anything, Dana, we're you're family…we're here for you."

"I know it, Bill, that's why I came," she smiled, her eyes watery.

They could hear Mulder descending down the steps. "Do me a favor, Bill," she said, looking at her brother. "Be nice to him."

Bill rolled his eyes. "I'll try," he said.

Mulder was searching for Scully and he stumbled into the kitchen.

Bill stood up and pointed towards the table. "Sit and have breakfast."

Mulder looked surprised. He nodded and walked over to sit next to Scully. Tara placed a plate in front of Mulder and he thanked her and eagerly scarfed it down much to the delight of both Tara and Scully. After their meal, Scully hugged both Tara and Bill and gave Matthew a kiss before she and Mulder headed for their rental car. Tara yelled out, "Don't be a stranger," she said.

Scully waved and they both threw their over-night bags into the trunk and then drove off.

Mulder looked at Scully and he could see she was more relaxed than she'd been the day before. "That was a pleasant visit," he smiled.

"It was, wasn't it?", she sighed, as she pulled out the third name on the list. "Okay, now we find John Nelson."

"The man with two names," Mulder joked.

She stared at his photo. "Blond hair…"

"Blond?"

"Like Emily's…", she said, staring at the photo.

"Do you think he's the one?", Mulder asked.

"Only the DNA results can say for sure, Mulder. I mean, it's a crap-shoot " she said. "Would her hair have remained blond or eventually turn red? Would she be tall or short? Would she have dark hair or red hair? Which of my genes did she inherit?"

"She got her looks from you," he said, sincerely. "She was a beautiful little girl."

Scully smiled. "Everyday you remind me of why I love you, Mulder."

"If feel the same way," he sighed.

They pulled up to the tall downtown loft apartment. They parked and made their way up to the 25th floor. They knocked on the door and a tall handsome man opened the door. He looked directly at Scully. "Don't I know you?", he said, confused.

"I'm Agent Dana Scully, sir. And this is my partner, Fox Mulder. Are you John Nelson?"

"I am," he said, still staring at her. "I swear, I know you from some place?"

"Can we come in," Mulder said, nearly pushing his way into the man's apartment.

"Sure," John said, moving out the way so the two agents could moved past him.

The apartment was slick and untouched as if it were a showcased apartment and not one lived in. Mulder noted that it was definitely not like his own bachelor pad. "There had to be a woman here," Mulder concluded. "Is there a Mrs. Nelson?", Mulder asked.

"There was…but she divoriced me," he shrugged. "What is this, anyway?"

"We have a few questions for you," Mulder said, looking at the man who was his same height.

John was dressed in a business suit. It was obvious that he was a successful business man of some kind. He watched him closely as John Nelson continued to stare at Scully. "I just can't place it," he said, shaking his head.

Scully sat next to Mulder, so close he could feel how tense she was. She kept staring back at John Nelson as if she too recognized him but couldn't place him either.

"Were you ever in the armed forces?", Mulder began.

"I was," John said, tearing his gaze from Scully. "8 yrs in the Army."

Scully turned her gaze slowly towards Mulder. Their eyes locked and Mulder nodded. "Were you in the Army in 1994?"

"I was," he said, looking confused. "Why is the FBI at my door? Did something happen in 1994?"

"Did you ever donate to a sperm bank?"

"A sperm bank?", John repeated. "What's going on?"

Scully pulled out the photo of Emily and placed it on the table. "You are one of 6 men named as the possible father of this little girl who died in 1997."

"I didn't father any child," he said, shaking his head. "That's not possible."

Mulder cocked his head. "Why? Why is that impossible?"

"The reason my wife left me is because my swimmers can't swim," he said, looking off.

"You're saying you're sterile?", Scully asked.

"I was injured while in the Army. Truthfully, I don't know what happened. And yeah, it was 1994, as a matter of fact," he said, still not looking at either agent. "I woke up after a month in the Army hospital. All I know is that accident, whatever it was caused me to be sterile. I have a scar, down there. My wife wanted kids and it took us a few years to piece it all together after finally getting my sperm count tested and realizing that I was sterile and traced it back to that event."

Scully's eyes were wide as saucers as she stared ahead of her. She looked at Mulder and he nodded his head.

"Would you be willing to give a DNA sample?"

"For what?", John questioned.

"To rule you out anyway. "

"I still don't understand what's going on."

"This child is deceased," Mulder spoke. "A list of six men's names was mailed to us. We are just trying to investigate and determine the father of this child."

"I can show you my paperwork," he said, shaking his head. "Proof that I am sterile."

"That would help our case, sir. We are not saying that you are the father. Truthfully, we are not sure why you're name or any of these men's name was sent to us as the possible father. We're just trying to rule each man out, that's all."

He stared at Scully for a long moment. "God, I swear I know you," he said. "You're face, its so familiar."

"Did you go to San Diego High?", she asked casually.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "You're from San Diego?"

Scully looked at Mulder. She knew to be careful giving out any personal information. "High school was it for me."

"It's odd," John said, continuing to stare.

"Will you give a DNA sample?", Scully asked.

"Sure, why not. It couldn't hurt," John said, running his hand through his blond hair.

As Scully prepared for taking the sample, John kept his eyes on her, watching her every move which unnerved Mulder. When he leaned back and opened his mouth, Scully nearly shook all over. She took the sample and then dropped it into the envelope, returning back to Mulder's side. She looked at Mulder and he stared back at John.

"Thanks for your time," Mulder said, handing him his card. "We'll let you know of the results."

"Alright," John said, walking them to the door. "Maybe I'll figure it out where I know you from by then."

"Maybe," Scully said, walking out first.

Mulder nodded to John and then caught up with her as they exited into the elevator. When the door was closed, Mulder took Scully's hand. "You recognized him, didn't you?"

"I think I do," she said, looking him in the eye. "In flashes! When I looked at him, I saw him sitting with other's next to me. Somewhere, I don't remember…"

"When you were abducted?", Mulder asked.

The elevator door opened and they waited until they re-entered the car.

"Scully," Mulder began. "I think the government has been using their own soldiers to create hybrids. And I think John Nelson was used just like you were. They left him sterile and you barren, Scully."

"Mulder, we need to take these samples back to Field Office. We need to run tests. I have a sneaky suspicion that John Nelson is Emily's father."

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	5. Chapter 5

**"Who's The Father?**

**Part 5**

**By Trycee**

**Time-line: Season 7**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the X-files, this is written for fun not profit.**

"All we can do is send it off to D.C.," Agent Cruz said, as he addressed both agents. "It'll take some time but we'll rush it back here as soon as we can."

"And how long is that?", Scully questioned.

"Days, it depends on what other cases their working on…could be longer."

Scully covered her face. "God, why can't they invent instant DNA testing?", she complained.

"Thanks, Agent," Mulder said, walking with Scully towards the door. "Look, we have three more men to find. My curiosity is getting the best of me."

"What do you mean?"

"Were these men in the Army as well? Are they sterile? Do they have similar experiences as John Nelson? We can't rule them out based upon your memory of your abduction, Scully."

"You're right," she sighed. "Okay, Mulder, the next man is named Howard Carville."

"Let's go, Scully."

The apartment was modest from the outside as they made their way to Apartment 13. Mulder knocked and the door swung open. An elderly woman smoking a cigarette answered. "What do you want?", she said, looking Scully from head to toe.

"Howard Carville residence?"

"Not anymore," she said, smoking directly in Scully's face.

Scully's blue eyes darkened with her face tightening and Mulder pulled her away before she said something to the woman. "Where does he live now?"

"Try the shelter," she said, slamming the door in their faces.

They turned and walked back to their cars. Scully was silent. Mulder looked at her for a long moment. "Scully?"

"I'm okay, Mulder," she said, looking out at the people moving along on the busy streets.

"Are you? Because I can continue this if you'd like."

"Mulder, I need to know, okay?"

He threw up his hands. "Okay. Let's find this guy."

The shelter was crowded with people sleeping on beds and on the floor. Women with their children and strange men slept side by side. Scully moved through the musty crowd in front of Mulder who was watching her back. They followed behind the Shelter director until they came upon a cot with a dusty looking man laid out on the bed, asleep. "Howard Carville?", Scully asked.

The man snorted and awoke. "What the hell?", he said, jumping up. "What do you want? What do you want with me?"

"I'm Agent Scully and this is Agent Mulder, may we speak to you?"

Howard Carville glanced around him. "If I move, someone will get my cot and I won't have a place to sleep."

"Okay, we can ask you here," Mulder spoke. "Sir, were you ever in the Army of other Armed Forces?"

"I'm not going back. You can't make me go back," he said, reeking of alcohol.

"No, sir, we're just trying to establish if you served or not."

"I did, why?"

"Were you missing at any time during your service?"

"No," he said, shaking his head. "I served five years and then they kicked me out and I had nowhere to go, so I ended up on the streets."

"Had you ever given a donation to a sperm bank?", Scully asked.

Howard Carville burst out in a strangled laughter which turned into a coughing fit. They waited until he recovered. "They pay well but you have to have an address, so no."

"Did you ever have children?"

Howard looked at Scully and it made her uncomfortable. "Kids weren't on the list."

"Sir, we'd like to get a DNA sample from you, if at all possible," Scully said.

"For what?"

"To rule you out as the father of a little girl named Emily Sims."

"What do I have to do?"

"Just a swab," Scully said, showing him the kit.

"Any pricking me or drawing blood?"

"No, just a swab," Scully said, snapping on her gloves.

Howard looked around him at the others. "I need something for this."

"Like what?", Mulder asked.

"Look around you," Howard stated. "I need cash, man," he said, as if Mulder was the dumbest man in the world.

Mulder reached into his pocket and pulled out a fifty dollar bill. "Here, for you."

He opened his mouth and Scully stared at the rotten mouth with reddish yellow teeth. She looked back at Mulder but he was trying not to barf. She quickly took the sample, thanked him and walked off. Mulder followed her. They turned around only when they heard a few people following them.

"What about us? Do me too," a few people said. "I want some money."

Mulder stopped and showed him his gun and badge and they backed up. He turned and walked out of the shelter with Scully, back into the crisp clean air. Mulder vomited on the side of the building as Scully tried not to look in his direction. Several homeless men were coming too close for comfort for her. After Mulder recovered, they drove off searching for number five.

"I hope this other man is a better choice," Scully said. "I'm starting to wonder about the men they chose to be the father of my child."

Mulder smiled. "What would your choice be?"

Scully smiled widely. "Well, he would brilliant, an incredible mind."

"Hmm…"

"He'd be sexy."

"Sexy, that's me."

"With the best body I've ever seen."

"Really?", Mulder said, turning towards her.

"He would have incredible lips and deep eyes that would make me shiver."

"Really?", he said, shifting in his seat.

"And a voice that is soothing and that I can't get enough of."

"Hmm," he said, trying to keep his eyes on the road.

"That's what I would choose," she said, touching his hand.

"God, Scully, if you say anything else, I'm going to crash this car," he said, with a smile.

She chuckled. "Sorry, Mulder. I'll make sure to not excite you anymore."

Mulder's eyebrows raised.

"While you're driving," she added.

Mulder smiled and did his best to keep his eyes on the road but he kept watching Scully out the corner of his eyes. She kept a smile on her face as she chuckled to herself.

The fourth man on the list were named Zack Briar. They pulled up to a church and they both looked at each other. "This should be interesting," Mulder stated.

"Mulder, if Emily's father is a pastor, I won't know what to say?"

They stared out at the tent that was set up for a revival and then back towards each other. "Well, let's get this over with."

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	6. Chapter 6

**Who's The Father?**

**Part 6**

**By Trycee**

**Time-Line: Season 7**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Files, this is written for fun not profit.**

Mulder and Scully moved past the parishioners who were setting up chairs in the revival tent straight up to the pulpit where the pastor was setting up his notes for the upcoming sermon. "Welcome, brother and sister to _The King is Coming Baptist Church_. Service starts in one hour!"

"Zachary Briar?", Scully asked.

The Pastor shook his head. "Brother Briar!", he said, calling someone over Mulder's shoulder.

They turned to see a tall man with dirty blond hair setting up metal chairs in a row. "Yes, Pastor?"

"These people are looking for you!"

They watched as Zack Briar approached them. Both Scully and Mulder pulled out their I.D. "May we speak to you?"

Zachary motioned for them to follow him out of the tent to an empty section of grass just an arm's throw from the church. "How can I be of service?"

Mulder glanced at Scully and then began to question the man. "Were you ever a member of the Armed Forces?"

"I was," the man said, with a warm smile.

"We're in you in the Army?"

"Yes, brother, I was."

Scully looked at Mulder and could tell he was uneasy. She knew he didn't do well with the religious types. "In 1994?", she questioned.

"Let me tell you what happened to me in 1994, sister!"

Scully shot a look at Mulder and then back to the man. "Go ahead."

"In 1994, I was a killer in the name of God and Country but what I was doing was sinning against God! I had evil in my heart and the devil sent his demons after me. One night I was sleeping and his minions came to me just as real as I'm standing here now!", he said, raising his hand to the sky. "I cried out to God, but he couldn't hear me because I was in the belly of hell! These demons had taken me to hell and where torturing me. They were stabbing me and torturing me in horrific ways!"

Mulder cocked his head to the side. "Experiments?"

"These demons were torturing my soul and I realized that I had turned my back on God and so God had turned his back on me!", he said, staring into the Agents eyes. "When I awoke in the morning, I thought it was a nightmare but it was real, brother and sister, it was as real as God is real! I had scars all over my body from those demons and I knew, I knew that things in my life had to change! I gave my life to God and I haven't looked back. Sometimes I see those demons in my mind's eye and I rebuke them in the name of Jesus because I am healed! I've been washed in the blood of the lamb and God has forgiven me and those demons cannot stay!"

Mulder looked at Scully but her eyebrows were raised as she stared at Zachary Briars. "Are you married, sir?"

"I am. My wife and I have been serving God for several years now. "

"We're you married in 1994?", Scully questioned.

"No, not then. I met my wife after I was discharged from the Army. In man's eyes, I had gone insane," he chuckled. "But in God's eyes, I'd seen the truth."

"Did you ever give a donation of sperm to a sperm bank?"

Zachary Briar looked from Mulder to Scully, a confused look on his face. "I'm sorry but no, I've never done that, why?"

"Sir, you were named as one of six men as the possible father of a now deceased three year old child named Emily Sims."

"Sims? I don't remember a woman named Sims. Before I was saved by God, I did partake in the flesh," he said, shyly. "But I don't remember a woman with that last name. Even before all this, I was a one woman type of guy."

"Me too," Mulder whispered, staring at Scully.

She looked at Mulder, her cheek reddening slightly and then she cleared her throat. "Would you mind giving us a DNA sample to rule you out as the father, sir?"

"A Father," he huffed. "That's something I have never been. My wife and I have not been blessed by God to have children. God will give us children in his own time."

Both eyebrows were raised as Scully turned toward Mulder. He could read her thoughts and nodded that he understood. Scully performed the DNA test and thanked him but as she went to turn, Mr. Briar grabbed her arm. "This child that died. What does she look like?"

He removed his hand and Scully reached into her pocket and pulled out the photo of Emily.

Zachary smiled as he looked at her polaroid. "She's very pretty. How did she die?"

"An incurable disease that spread all over her body. She was three."

"When?"

"1997," she said, as her eyes closed briefly.

"So sad to have only been here on this earth for three years," he said, looking up to the sky. "But God knows what he's doing does he not?"

"He does," she said, quietly.

"My wife and I haven't been blessed yet. We've wanted children so desperately but it isn't God's will. If this child is mine... and then to find out she is deceased, I think it would hurt me so."

"I understand," Scully said, dropping her head.

"Will you tell me anyway?", he said, looking at her. He was inches away from Scully which was making Mulder uncomfortable.

"My card," Scully said, handing it to him. "As soon as we know, we'll let you know."

"Thank You," he said, backing away. "God bless you both!"

"You too," she said, as Mulder came closer.

They walked back to the car and Scully sat down, slamming her car door. Mulder looked at her. "Scully?"

"I felt so sorry for him, Mulder," she said, as a tear formed in her eye. "I could feel his pain because it's my pain," she said, her eyes locking with his. "Our pain."

He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her close to imr. "You need a minute, Scully?"

"I do," she said, as she rested in his arms.

"Let's take a lunch break and then move on to number six. I need to contact the guys anyway."

She raised up and looked at him. "For what?"

"That's two that are sterile, Scully. And as far as we know, nearly all were in the Army. "

"We don't know about the first guy, we didn't ask him if he served."

"They can find that out for us."

He pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number. "The Lone Gunmen," Langely answered.

"Stop recording me!", Mulder ordered.

"There," Langely faked it. "It's off."

"Langely, I know you haven't shut that recorder off, now shut it off."

"Jeez, what's got his panties in a twist?", Froehike asked as he listened in.

"Where are you Mulder?", Byers questioned as they all listened in on the same call via headphones.

"San Diego."

"Ooh, is the lovely Agent Scully in a bathing suit?"

"I can hear you, Froehike," Scully said, which made Mulder smile.

Froehike glanced from Langley to Byers. "Well, is she?"

"Froehike!", Mulder said as a warning. "Look, we have a list of names we need you to investigate. We think all six men were in the Army. I need service times and any info you can on them. "

He named off the list of names and hung up. Mulder looked at Scully and kissed her on the cheek before pulling off from the church. Scully could see Zachary Briar standing in the revival tent watching them as they drove off.

Mulder pulled into a rundown diner, his favorite and pulled Scully along. "Mulder," she complained. "Can we ever eat a place that doesn't have grease on the windows?"

"That adds to the ambience, Scully," he said, walking hand in hand with her.

They sat at a table across from each other. They ordered their food, a burger and fries for Mulder and a salad for Scully. When the waitress returned with a large juicy burger for Mulder and dressed up iceburg lettuce for Scully, she pushed her salad aside and grabbed a few of his fries. Mulder smiled. "You want your own burger?"

"No, I want yours," she said, with a twinkle in her eye which made Mulder's heart flutter.

The waitress came back to them asking if everything was okay. "Another burger and fries," Mulder said, much to Scully's surprise.

"Mulder, I said, I'd eat yours," she said, dipping a fry into ketchup.

"Scully, I'm a growing boy, I need all of my burger."

"Fine, I won't share my fries with you," she smirked.

They laughed as they waited for her order to arrive. After they'd finished their meal, they drove off in search of the last person on the list, Kenneth Holmes. They drove around to the modest home and pulled up in the drive way. A teenage girl was sitting on the steps staring at the two agents as they approached. "Who are you?", she asked.

"Is this the Kenneth Holmes residence?"

"DAD!", the girl screamed out, nervously. "Dad there are some people here for you!", she said, jumping up and running into the home.

Kenneth Holmes stepped out, a patch covering his eye. "Can I help you?"

"Sir, are you Kenneth Holmes?"

"I am," he said, cautiously.

Mulder pulled out his badge. "Agents Mulder and Scully. May we speak to you?"

He nodded and opened his door to them. They followed him in and then sat down on couch. Three teen girls were standing near the hallway that leads to the bedrooms. Kenneth Holmes sat down and looked at him nervously. "What's this about?"

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	7. Chapter 7

**Who's The Father?**

**Part 7**

**By Trycee**

**Time-Line: Season 7**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Files, this is written for fun not profit.**

"Sir," Scully began. "We're you ever in the Armed Forces? Is that how you were injured?"

Kenneth Holmes looked confused. "I thought you were here because of the accident!"

"Accident?"

"Yeah," he said, looking towards his children and then back to the agents. "The drunk driver that plowed into my car. I lost my left eye and my wife is in critical condition in the hospital."

"We're sorry, we didn't know," Scully said. "That's not why we are here."

"You're not gonna investigate it?", he said, shocked.

"Sir, I'm sure the local police will investigate it," Mulder said. "We're here on another matter."

"What matter is that?", he said, getting agitated.

"May we speak to you alone?", Mulder asked, glancing up at the man's three daughters.

Kenneth turned to his children. "Go back outside to play or something. Give us some room to talk."

The kids looked upset as they walked past their father and the Agents. They rolled their eyes and stared at both Mulder and Scully as they slammed the front door behind them.

"Where you ever in the Armed Forces?", Mulder asked.

"No," he said, confused. "I never tried either."

Scully looked surprised. "Did you ever make a donation to a sperm bank?", she questioned.

Kenneth Holmes became quiet. "Look, I have three kids. They said I was not responsible for any children created using my sperm. Oh, wait? Are you here because one wants to contact me?"

"So you did give a donation."

"It got me through college," he said, looking at Mulder for support. "Why yank off for nothing when you can get paid for it."

Scully turned her head away. Mulder smirked but then noticed her reaction. "Ah, were you ever missing at any time?"

"No!", the man said, more confused. "What is going on here?"

"We're trying to determine if you are the father of a 3 yr. old little girl named Emily Sims that's deceased."

"Why the questions about the Army or being missing?"

"There are five other men on a list as possible fathers. We're trying to determine if there is any connection between you and the other men on the list mailed to us. "

"Who mailed it?"

"We don't know," Scully said, sighing.

"Why me? I mean, come on, I'm supposed to have been protected against this very thing. No knocks on the doors asking if I'm the father!"

"Would you be willing to give a donation?"

"A sperm donation?", he said, standing up.

"Ah, no, wrong choice of words," Mulder smiled. "No, a DNA sample."

"To rule you out as the father of this child."

"Three years old? I didn't give sperm three years ago. My oldest is 14. I did that in college, years ago."

"They could have kept your sperm, sir and used it later," she said, looking irritated.

Kenneth looked at the Agents and then at the door where he could see his daughters duck back. "Fine, take it. Whatever happens, happens…the sooner you leave, the sooner I can get back to the hospital to see my wife."

Scully stood up and slapped on her gloves from her kit. She swiped his mouth and then dropped it in the bag and handed him a card. "Thanks for your help. We'll be in touch."

"You come here for this, but no one can find the drunk driver that plowed into me and my wife," he huffed.

"We aren't apart of that investigation, " Mulder stated. "But I hope they catch him."

"Damn straight," Kenneth said. "Girls, get out of the way so these Agents can go. "

The kids moved but continued to glare as Mulder and Scully quickly pulled away. "Back to the San Diego field office, Scully."

"Fine. Maybe we can get some answers, Mulder. We don't have the results of the fingerprint testing to see who sent this. We don't know why we've been sent out on this wild goose chase. We know pretty much, nothing."

Mulder touched her hand and her hand slid into his easily. "You want it over with, don't you?"

"I do, I'm ready to know. Seeing these men, it just really angers me that they would do this to me. What if none of these men are Emily's father? I mean…what if we are being set-up?"

"For what?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Hell if I know," she sighed. "I'm just tired of finding all these crazy men who could be the other half of MY daughter and yet none of them are good enough for her."

Mulder squeezed her hand. "As hard as it is, Scully, maybe you need to step back for a moment."

She turned her head to look at him and he knew he had said the wrong thing. "Step back, Mulder? Why is it when it's you, you plow right ahead but when it's me, you want me to step back?"

Mulder looked out of the window as he drove on. She waited for his answer but when he didn't give her one she sighed and then stared out of her own window until they came to the San Diego office. They both stepped out, the samples in hand and took it inside to the lab. The technician expressed mailed it off to D.C. but surprised them with some of the results they had been waiting for.

Scully sat down at the table and looked through them. "The person that mailed this left no saliva, no hair, and no finger-prints. They wore latex gloves and sealed it with glue."

"Okay," Mulder spoke.

"As far as the DNA results from David Michaels, he is not Emily's Father."

Mulder nodded. He hadn't suspected him as being the father. Scully moved on to the next person. "Neither is George Highland."

"That's a relief," Mulder said. "He was a creep."

"He was…"

"What about John Nelson, the one who may have been abducted with you?"

Scully shuffled through the papers. "I guess it's not available yet," she said, looking at the phone. "I'll make a call to have them put a rush on this. Any news from the guys?"

Mulder whipped out his cell phone. "Hey, it's me. Anything?"

"Apparently five out of six of the men were in the Army," Byers answered,

"I know that," Mulder said.

"We had to crack into the Military database. These men were a part of a special forces, Mulder."

"What special forces?"

"Langley is working on it," Froehike said. "There's something strange about their records, Mulder. Trying to access their records, we keep coming up on security blocks…Someone's hiding something."

"Look, I think these men were being used to create children."

"What like the hybrids, you think the Army is using their own men as donors, Mulder?", Byers asked.

"That's exactly what I think they're doing."

"Here it is," Langley answered. "Project Phoenix."

"Project Phoenix?", Mulder said, as Scully watched him.

"Mulder, you're right," Byers stated as he read from the screen.

"Looks like these soldiers signed up for more than they thought they did," Froehike stated.

"We found two of the names you gave us."

"Which ones?"

"John Nelson and Zachary Briar…"

"The two blonds," Mulder answered.

"We can't find any other information on them though. They're listed with a series of other men as a part of Project Phoenix."

"I need more information, something that ties them to Scully's abduction."

"In what way?", Byers asked.

"Something that shows that they are the father of Scully's daughter, Emily."

The Gunmen looked at each other, surprised. "Is that what you're investigating?"

"Yeah…"

"Does Scully know?", Froehike asked.

"Yeah, she knows, " he said, glancing at Scully. She was still watching him. "Look, I need anything you can find on Project Phoenix. Commanders, other officers, anything."

"Will do!", Froehike said, as Mulder hung up.

"What they say?"

"Nelson and Briar were in a special project called, Project Phoenix. I'm having the guys look to see if there's a link between them and your abduction."

"Okay," she sighed. "We either can stay here and wait or get us a hotel and tell them to call us if anything comes in…what do you want to do?"

"I think you need some rest," he said, noticing the lines under her eyes. "You didn't sleep much last night."

She looked surprised. "How do you know?"

"Because I was up. I know you were trying like I was to stay as far away as possible. It was hard enough to be in the next room from you all these years but now that we've told each other how we feel, it was even harder to lay their knowing you feel like I do and NOT touch you…"

"God, do I know it," she sighed. "Okay, separate rooms…Stay in your own bed?"

"Skinner would kill us if we didn't…"

"We'll rest until we get a call."

"Can we rest with each other?", Mulder winked.

Scully smiled shyly. "Mulder, don't tempt me," she said.

Mulder moved in closer until his lips were inches from hers. "Tempting you is what I want, Scully."

She stepped back away from him. "We promised we'd take it slow, both of us promised."

"Any slower and I won't be able to control myself, Scully."

"Soon, Mulder, soon," she sighed. "But not now…not while on this case with all that's going on."

"You're right," he sighed heavily. "Okay, let's go. I'll be good!"

She looked at him and laughed. "I wish I could believe that, Mulder. I wish I could."

They walked from their room in search of Agent Cruz. Mulder could see the sly look on Scullys face as she would cast a glance at him as they Mulder tracked down Agent Cruz. "Agent Scully and I are going to find a hotel. You can reach me on my cell if anything comes through for us."

Agent Cruz looked at the two agents suspiciously as if he could sense the sexual tension between the two Agents. "Sure. No problem."

They turned and headed back to the car in search of another hotel. Scully fell asleep on the drive there. Mulder looked at her and he reached out to touch her but his phone rang. "Hey Mulder," Froehike's dry voice rang through. "We got it, we cracked Project Phoenix…"

"Hit me," Mulder said.

"Mulder, it's not what you think."

**PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK: THANKS!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Who's The Father?**

**Part 8**

**By Trycee**

**Time-Line: Season 7**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Files, this is written for fun not profit.**

"Mulder, these men were involved in the abduction of women all over the United States as soldiers. Apparently the government had soldiers sworn to secrecy under penalty of death. They helped abduct women staging fake UFO abductions for the purpose of stealing their ova…", Froehike said.

Mulder was silent for a moment, his eyes resting on Scully as he shut the car off. "Were they themselves ever abducted? Scully remembers being seated in a room with one of them and he remembers her."

"There's no evidence from what we can access. But we are locked out of most of the files."

Mulder touched Scully lightly on the shoulder and her eyes immediately opened. She looked at him and he smiled. "I'll get our rooms, you stay here."

He stepped out of the car, his ear still connected to his cell phone. "Do what you can to find more info. This is Scully we're talking about. See if there's anything linking either of those men to Scully or Emily."

After Scully had eaten, showered and changed, she fell asleep easily. Mulder though was restless as his mind kept spinning. He watched television until he was bored and then tried to sleep but he kept tossing and turning. Finally, defeated, Mulder opened the connecting door and then slipped under the covers next to Scully. In her sleep, she moved closer to him as he held his breath. He slid closer to her until they were snuggled up together. Her eyes fluttered open only slightly before closing again and Mulder did his best to ignore the reaction his body was having to the close proximity of her. After watching her sleep, he closed his own eyes and drifted off to sleep.

The morning came and Scully awoke, nestled up to Mulder, his long legs stretch out over hers with his arms wrapped around her. She smiled and shifted so she could look at him. He was sleeping peacefully and she didn't want to disturb him. She placed a soft kiss on his cheek and then wiggled her way out of his arms and headed for the bathroom. After showering and dressing, she woke him up with a kiss. He grabbed her and pressed his lips to hers hungrily. He let go though it was hard for them both. Scully touched her hand to his cheek. "We've got a day ahead of us, Agent Mulder."

It took a moment for her words to penetrate Mulder's clouded mind as he stared at her lustfully.

"Mulder? Mulder!", she repeated.

"Yeah," he finally answered.

Scully smirked. "Go shower so we can get some breakfast. There were no calls, so I'm assuming we still have to wait for the results."

"Oh," he said, as he began to snap back to reality. "Scully, I need to tell you something…and I think we need to go back and re-interview Nelson and Briars."

"Why?", she said, packing up her over-night bag.

"They were in Project Phoenix. Project Phoenix was a program where soldiers faked abductions of women for the sole purpose of harvesting their ova, Scully."

She stopped in her tracks. "You're saying those two men were a part of that?"

"They were, yes!", he said, standing up and holding her arms. "They were involved," he said, letting her go and walking up to the connecting door.

"But they both had memories, although one thought it was demons and the other couldn't quite remember, but _I_ remember seeing him. It was metallic where ever we were and it was men and women sitting next to each other," she said, thinking back. "I remember his face and he was just as frightened as I was."

"We need to re-interview them both," he said. "I'll get dressed. You order breakfast."

"Okay," she said, as he closed the door. She stood there as her mind reeled. After a few moments, she picked up the number and dialed the kitchen for breakfast.

Mulder and Scully made their way back to the stylish loft but no one was home. "Where does he work?", Mulder asked.

"He's a lawyer," she said, surprised, looking at her notepad. "He works just a few minutes away."

They got back into their cars and drove over to John Nelson's workplace. They showed their badges and were escorted over to John Nelson's office. His secretary smiled nervously as she knocked on his door. "Ah, John, the FBI is here."

He opened his door and waved them in. "Come in, come in," he said, casually, despite all the stares and gasps as everyone stared in their direction. He motioned for them to be seated and then he sat down behind his desk. He kept his eyes on Scully until Mulder cleared his throat. "Tell us about Project Phoenix."

They could see the color drain out of his face. "Where did you get that information?"

"Obviously we have connections," Mulder stated, staring hard at John Nelson. "Tell us! Explain to us how you could participate in faking abductions and using women to harvest their eggs!", he said, raising his voice.

"Look," John stated. "You don't understand."

"Explain it to us," Scully said.

"I was a soldier," he said, looking them directly in the eye. "I did what I was told! And when I objected, let's just say, I became a test subject as well."

"What do you mean?", Mulder questioned.

"It isn't easy no matter how ruthless you're supposed to be as a soldier, seeing the look in their eyes," he said, looking at Scully. "Knowing that we were taking something from them they'd never have again and they'd never know," he said, shaking his head. "After a while I couldn't do it. I went to my commander and told him, _'Kill me but I'm not doing this anymore'_. I guess I was too valuable because they used me instead."

"What did they do to you?", Scully asked.

"Everything," he sighed. "I'm grateful that I don't remember what they did to me but I know from what we did to other women and a few men and let's just say, I'm glad my own memories are blocked. No one would want that, no one."

"I didn't want that," Scully said, staring at John. "But we didn't have a choice, now did we?", she said, sarcastically.

"I didn't either," he stated. "I signed up to serve my country but I did my job_ too_ well. They recruited me into a special project. They don't tell you what your signing up for, you just do what you're told. And when you don't they make you disappear or they subject you to the same tests. I've seen it done millions of times and it was done to me. You were a victim in this, but in a way, so I was…"

"Okay," Mulder said, irritated. "So what do you remember?"

John Nelson looked at Scully. "When I saw you're face," he said, looking at her. "It triggered some of my memories. I remember sitting next to you. I remember the horror in your eyes and I knew I was frightened as well. That's all I remember. I woke up a month later in a military hospital with someone shoving discharge papers in my face. I came home to my parents who didn't even know I was missing but I had flash-backs and so that was how I knew something had happened…plus I had scars on my arms, my chest and also on my penis. "

Mulder looked at Scully but she just stared at John Nelson.

"I became a lawyer, I married my wife and though I didn't quite remember what happened, I had an idea. But how do you tell someone you love that you probably won't give her the baby she wants?"

Scully looked at Mulder and their eyes locked. John watched the interaction between the two of them. "I guess you do know," he said, looking at Mulder. "She left me because she wanted babies. When I found out for sure there was zero sperm, I knew for sure what had happened. I guess it could've been worst…they could've killed me."

Scully's phone rang and she stepped out of the office. John's secretary watched her closely as if she were afraid of Scully's every move as she talked on the phone.

"Tell me, what the name of your commander was?", Mulder questioned.

"I can't tell you that," John said. "I'm not trying to die now! I have a good life and I will eventually find someone else and go on with my life, I can't do that if I'm dead!", he said, raising his voice.

"Then tell me what you remember!", Mulder said. "Tell me what they did to those women!", Mulder yelled.

"Look, all I can tell you were that there was a man…standing in the distance when we would abduct them. He was in charge of everything!"

"What did he look like."

"An old man…smoking a cigarette. No one ever called him by name!"

Mulder looked at John. "Cigarette Smoking Man."

"We didn't have a name for him. As far as we were concerned, he didn't exist!"

Scully reentered the room. She locked eyes with Mulder and then she turned her away. She placed the photo of Emily on the table. "This is your daughter, Emily Sims," Scully said, slowly.

John looked surprised. "She's mine?"

Scully swallowed hard. "And mine!"

John looked at Mulder who had turned his back and was staring at the wall. Scully could almost feel the pain vibrating from Mulder but she was numb as she looked down at Emily's photo. "We are her parents," she said, again.

John plopped down in his chair. "What happened to her?"

"She was created as an experiment, an agenda," Scully said, slowly, choosing her words carefully. "She was born to an elderly woman in a nursing home who'd been given hormone treatments. Your sperm and my egg were inserted into her. The woman was in a sleep-induced coma until Emily was born. The woman never knew she was being used that way," she said, as tears ran down her face.

John was silent as he listened.

"She was given a false birth certificate and adopted. Her adoptive parents were murdered which is how I got involved. I noticed a resemblance between Emily and my deceased older sister Melissa. I ordered genetic testing and it came back that I was Emily's biological mother. Emily died because the injections they were giving her had ceased. She died in 1997 and is buried at St. Therese of Carmel Cemetery on Del Mar Trails road. She is under the name Emily Scully."

John stared into Scully's eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I was a part of this. I'm sorry this happened to you and me," he said, picking up the photo. "She's a beautiful girl and I wish I could've met her."

"She was a beautiful girl," Scully said, glancing to Mulder who was now seated, his head hung low.

"Can I," John stuttered. "Can I get a copy of this photo?"

Scully reached into her pocket and pulled out the other photo she had of Emily with a birthday hat on her head. "Here's another one."

He nodded and grabbed up both photos. "Be right back," he said, looking at Scully and then Mulder. His eyes drifted back to Scully. "I'm going to have my secretary make a copy."

He opened the door and called for his secretary. She looked startled to see the Agents as if she had thought they disappeared. "Ooh, what a cute little girl."

"It's my daughter," John said. "Can you make copies of these photos?"

His secretary smiled and glanced at Scully. Her eyes lingered for a moment before she said, "Okay," and then disappeared into the hall. There was silence between them until she returned and handed him the photos. He kept his own copy and handed Scully hers. "Thank You for telling me."

"You're welcome," Scully said.

"I feel like I should say something," John said. "But all I can think of is, can we hug?"

Scully smiled shyly and they embraced. Scully then turned back to look at Mulder. His head was still hung low.

"Mulder?", she said as a question.

Mulder stood up barely looking at them both. He followed her out as they walked down the hall, back out into the street. Scully glanced at Mulder but he kept his head low, unspeaking as they walked on. She grabbed his hand and his head lifted up. She stopped dead in her tracks and stood directly in front of him. "Mulder!", she said, wrapping her arms around him.

He squeezed her tightly. "I love you, Scully. I'm sorry this happened to you."

She nodded her head.

"I can't tell you how sorry I am."

"I'm sorry for you too," she said.

She looked into his eyes and could see the pain registered there. "But, we still need to talk to Zachary Briar."

She dropped her arms and then looked up at him. "Not now…"

"Yes now."

"Mulder," she said, "Why now?"

"Because CGB is behind this."

**PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK: THANKS!**


	9. Chapter 9

"**Who's The Father?**

**Part 9**

**By Trycee**

**Time-line: Season 7**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the X-files, this is written for fun not profit.**

Mulder headed for the car but Scully stood in place, her arms folded in front of her. Mulder stopped in his track noticing that she was not behind him. He came back and stood directly in front of her. "What are you doing? We need to go interview him."

"No," she said, not looking at him.

"No?", he said, staring down at her. "What do you mean no?"

Her eyes slowly rose to meet his. "Mulder, I know who her father is now. That's enough for me. Let's just go home."

"No," Mulder said, shaking his head. "Scully, we still need to talk to him, we still need to find out what he knows…to see if he can link it to Smoky too."

"He's dead Mulder. CGB Spender is dead, so what difference does it make?", she said, raising her voice slightly. "He probably was over Project Phoenix but it doesn't matter now. It's over."

"It's NOT over," Mulder said, angrily. "We are this close to…"

"Mulder!", Scully interrupted. "No matter how long we badger him, Zachary Briar will always think it was a supernatural event from God! He isn't Emily's father. Now I know who it is. I know his name, what he does. So why deal with Zachary Briar when the whole reason for this investigation was to find Emily's father?"

"Its also to find out what they did to you, Scully!", Mulder said, his eyes blazing. "Not just for you but for all those other women they did this too."

"I know who her father is, Mulder. Can't I have some peace about all this?", she said, searching his eyes.

He shook his head, sighed and looked off across the parking lot. "So you don't want to go any further?", he said.

Scully touched his hand. "No, Mulder, I don't. I want to go home. I want to take this all in. I need to feel what I feel," she said, quietly. "Please, let's just go home."

Mulder looked down at her and smoothed his hand over her cheek and then over her small red lips. "Okay, " he said. "Let's go."

Skinner sat at his desk reading the report from the two agents. "So, any other information on Project Phoenix?"

Scully looked at Mulder briefly as he nodded no. "Sir, I had found the man who is Emily's father," Scully began. "Mulder believes that CGB Spender was involved but," she said, licking her lips nervously. "I wanted to process all of this, for myself."

Skinner said nothing as he looked at her. He then finally spoke. "Take a week off, the both of you. "

Both Agents stood up and Skinner handed Mulder the report before they walked out of Skinner's office. Scully followed Mulder to the elevator and then back down to the office. They were silent as they gathered their things. "Mulder," Scully said, turning to face him. "You're angry with me?"

Mulder shook his head no.

"Then why won't you say anything to me?"

Mulder dropped the files from his hand and walked over to her. He kissed her lips lightly. "I'm not mad at you, Scully. I'm disappointed that we didn't continue, yes, but not mad. I know this is difficult for you and I should be more understanding. I'm sorry," he said, pulling her into his arms.

She rested her head against him, holding him tightly around the waist. "Can we go home and take some time?"

They broke apart and Scully gathered her briefcase and Mulder filed away this latest X-File into Emily's file. He placed his hand in his spot on her back and they locked the X-files office up. After entering Scully's apartment, she dropped her briefcase at the door and headed straight for her bedroom. Mulder slipped off his suit jacket and clicked on the TV. He could hear the shower turn on. He listened for the sound of it turning off and then Scully re-emerged in a t-shirt and loose jogging pants. Her hair was wet and Mulder smiled as he pulled her close to him on the sofa. They held each other saying nothing as minutes ticked by. Finally Scully looked up at him. "Mulder, this entire situation, " she began. "It's been draining on me."

"I know it has," he said, running his hands up and down her right arm as he cradled her against him. "Do you believe him?", she asked. She'd been wondering since they left San Diego what Mulder's impression was.

"I believe him," Mulder answered.

"He seemed genuine," she said, as her hand linked with his. She loved the rough feel of his warm hands.

"He did," he said, kicking off his shoes and snuggling down further into the couch.

"You know, it has to be hard on him," she said, shifting to look at Mulder.

"In what way?", he said, raising an eyebrow.

"Here two FBI agents come knocking on his door one day and tell him he may be the father of a deceased child. Then they come back and he learns that yes, he is the dad, of a child he didn't participate in creating. Not only that, but the mother is the female FBI agent who'd been questioning him. And that child has been dead for a few years, a child he never got to meet."

Mulder said nothing as he breathed in the scent of her hair. He pressed his lips against her hairline.

"I was lucky, Mulder. I got to meet her. I got to hold her hand. I talked to her. I spent precious moments with her. He never had that."

Mulder watched her closely. He could feel her pain but he had pain of his own. He knew this situation had shaken her to her core but she would never admit it. It only angered him even more that this would happen to Scully, of all people. He could do nothing but hold her and swallow the anger that was just below the surface for him. Scully could feel the tension in him and she snaked her arm up to the back of his neck and pulled him down to her lips. They kissed softly, changing positions to access each other's mouth better. Scully pulled away, still running her fingers through the back of his hair. "Mulder, will you stay with me?"

She could hear that Mulder had stopped breathing but he suddenly recovered. He cleared his throat and nervously asked, "Stay, as in stay? Or as in for a little while and then go home?"

She smiled. "Stay, as in stay with me," she said.

Mulder nodded as his hand skimmed her soft ivory skin. "Are you sure?"

"More than ever," she smiled. "It's time to let things go and move on," she said.

Mulder nodded. "As long as you're sure."

She kissed the underside of his chin. "No regrets, Mulder, not with you. I love you."

"I love you," he added.

"So let's go express that love, huh?", she said, rising up and extending her hand.

Mulder took it and followed her to her bedroom where they closed the door.

**THE END**

**PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK: THANKS!**


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